Seventh Wonder

[funkster]

A few of you seem to be a bit keen on this band so where does a novice like me start ?

[Bupie]

I only know their last three but frankly, you can't go wrong with any of them. Mercy Falls is the one that gathers the best reviews but Waiting In The Wings and The Great Escape are equally great. I would say go for the cheapest of the bunch that you can find and then you'll buy the others soon

But as I said in the NP thread, it took a while for me to click. To describe their music, I would say that it's really close to DT but with less noodling, a way better singer and often catchiest choruses. On the other hand, the music (and voice) has less variation and is less adventurous than in DT or Haken, for instance. It's more or less always the same style of music so at first you can have the feeling of listening to the same song over and over. But this feeling disappears after a few listens. Anyway, it really works for me 

Having said that, I think that :

- Manatee won't try them
- Tom (if he passes by) will strongly disagree
- Mad and Nicky will surely say something but what ? 

[Nicky007]

Manatee won't try them

He should 

Mad and Nicky will surely say something but what ? 

Tom will strongly disagree

I actually introduced SW to the Room a few years ago 

I was ravin about'm already then. Tom was the first to catch on 


Funky, just get their latest album The Great Escape - unbelievably good 

When you'v played it a few times, you'l feel an intense urge to get their other albums 

Like e.g. DT and Haken, you can just play their albums over and over again, and experience somethin new each time 

Bupie, I still think that DT is the overall greatest progmetal band; as I ventured earlier, arguably the third greatest rock group eva after Beatles and Floyd. What do you guys think about this matter ?

Any great prog band takes a while to click. For most proggies, e.g. DT and Haken would take just as long (except that you hear more DT these days).

I also think that you'r right in that, strictly speaking, DT and Haken are musically more adventurous than SW.

Guys, enjoy this great band 

Nicky.

[Manatee]

I only know their last three but frankly, you can't go wrong with any of them. Mercy Falls is the one that gathers the best reviews but Waiting In The Wings and The Great Escape are equally great. I would say go for the cheapest of the bunch that you can find and then you'll buy the others soon

But as I said in the NP thread, it took a while for me to click. To describe their music, I would say that it's really close to DT but with less noodling, a way better singer and often catchiest choruses. On the other hand, the music (and voice) has less variation and is less adventurous than in DT or Haken, for instance. It's more or less always the same style of music so at first you can have the feeling of listening to the same song over and over. But this feeling disappears after a few listens. Anyway, it really works for me 

Having said that, I think that :

- Manatee won't try them

I won't?  Why not?  Actually, I'd just said in response to Teunis a couple days ago that it looked like I was going to need to expand my "to try" list to include these guys (and Wolverine and Darkwater).  I'm now listening to songs from Mercy Falls on YouTube.  The first comparison that comes to me is that they sound a bit like Kamelot with more extended songs.  For sure the vocals are much more pleasing than DT's.  I wouldn't really have thought to compare them to DT except that they're in more or less the same genre and both have impressive drumming.

So far, I like it.  I've listened to about 7 songs now.  I don't know how many are on the album, but most of them seem to be available on YouTube, so I can get a good feel for it, I think.  Also, I'd forgotten that they were the ones who did "Alley Cat," so I had heard one of their songs before.   Anyway, they've got melody, good vocals, strong musicianship, and, as you said, not much noodling.  I'll YouTube them a few more times, and then I may indeed get Mercy Falls.

And where is Tom, anyway?  Did he fall into the same vortex that Steve did?  Will they return sometime in the future in a TARDIS?

<the below added to tease Nicky>

Bupie, I still think that DT is the overall greatest progmetal band; as I ventured earlier, arguably the third greatest rock group eva after Beatles and Floyd. What do you guys think about this matter ?

I think no and triple no.      I do like Pink Floyd though.  You probably knew all of that already though.

[Bupie]

@ Manatee's "why not ?" : it was just a joke because, since I compared SW to DT, that could have made you run away. Of course, for instance, Alley Cat is very different from any DT song but other songs do remind me of DT, especially on Waiting In The Wings which has IMHO a strong I&W flavor. Still, I can see your point when you think of Kamelot but SW seems to have a richer/proggier instrumental dimension to my ears.

@ Nicky : I don't know whether DT is or not one of the three greatest groups ever. Is there such a thing anyway ? I just know that they are one of the three bands that I have played the most in my life, along with Kansas and Toto. Which doesn't mean that I consider them the best bands or those who produced the best albums. It's just my personal story that made me encounter these bands at a moment when I was highly receptive to their music, love them right away at first listen and get stuck to them.

[Nicky007]

Is there such a thing anyway ?

I think one can talk about "greatest rock groups", Bupie, just like one can talk about greatest filmmakers (Kubrick, Coppola), greatest philosophers (Aristotle, Hegel) etc.

I'm actually trying to look beyond my own personal taste then. It has something to do with intelligence, proficiency, innovation, imagination, and even moral, what one sums up in genius. When I say Beatles, Floyd, and DT, I'm trying to see it from a higher perspective 

You probably knew all of that already though.

Guesso 

I think ya need to hear some more DT (the Petrucci type) tho ..... 

Nicky.

[funkster]

I have downloaded the great escape so will give that a blast this weekend

Plus some Haken as you guys seem to rate them highly as well

Thanks to you all for your advice , feedback and comments - it is much appreciated 

[maddox]

Seventh Wonder, the uncharted terrain.

Although the name suggests otherwise, the band never intended to use their band-name in a religious way.
It's just a name.

Personally I think that comparing SW with Dream Theater is useless.
Despite the progmetal that they play they actually, in my book for what that's worth, have little in common.

Take the singer Tommy Karevik, for instance.
I once described is kind of singing as ... here it comes; the Beyoncé kind.
You know, that R&B lady who earns more cash that any of us in our lifetime.
To me, he's the male equivalent of Beyoncé.
He looks different (obviously), he sings a different tune than her, but his kind of singing is a bit the same.
Luckily for us, he's in a better band than Beyoncé.
If you don't understand what I mean, than first take a listen to Beyoncé and then to SW, maybe you'll understand what I'm trying to say.

But...don't let this all scare you off!!

I believe musically the band tips on the grounds of Shadow Gallery, a touch of Kamelot ( I can agree with your assessment here, Manatee though I believe that Kamelot is a bit more power metal than SW), Vanden Plas, Queensrÿche and acts like Circus Maximus.
There's a lot more melody than metal, the structure is the same, it's the melody that is more important than pure showing off.
The people who claim that Dream Theater is about showing off, would appreciate Seventh Wonder a whole lot more.

Further more, despite the somewhat grim and gritty storyline on Mercy Falls, I think that the lyrics are more down to earth, less complicated than for instance Dream Theater.

For I'm concerned, you can label Mercy falls as their best effort, though the storyline is somewhat basic, not really groundbreaking with a somewhat predictable outcome.
Packed with the decent lyrics, the music however, is great!

The Great Escape has its flaws, surely but the eye catcher is the closing title track.
It holds everything you have ever heard in Seventh Wonder and more.
A cliché maybe but maybe you'll understand it better when you hear the track.

Before Mercy falls they also have released two steady albums, the debut Become and their second album Waiting on the Wings.
Can't tell you what the debut is like, simply because I don't own that album but as for Waiting on the Wings, I can tell you that it's a fine album.
Eight straight forward metal songs, within a decent timeframe.

Conclusion, Seventh Wonder is surely a great contribution in the powerful world of Prog-metal.
One who'll not disappoint you whenever you listen to it.

My two cents.

[PH]

When I listened to Seventh Wonder for the first time, it reminded me of A.C.T.

Am I alone?

Cool band by the way.

[Nicky007]

To me, he's the male equivalent of Beyoncé.
If you don't understand what I mean, than first take a listen to Beyoncé and then to SW, maybe you'll understand what I'm trying to say.
But...don't let this all scare you off!!

Good grief, Mad, what have you been smoking 

You'r not gonna get me to play Beyoncé by any means, it's enuff that one's exposed to her all over the place 

Next thing, you'l be asking us to listen to Heintje - Oma so lieb wail wail 

Personally I think that comparing SW with Dream Theater is useless. Despite the progmetal that they play they actually, in my book for what that's worth, have little in common.

The thing is that SW (and masses of other bands) arose in the slipstream of DT, sooo: without DT, no SW, purely and simply 

Conclusion, Seventh Wonder is surely a great contribution in the powerful world of progmetal.
One that'll not disappoint you whenever you listen to it.

Now you'r makin sense 

When I listened to Seventh Wonder for the first time, it reminded me of A.C.T.

Am I alone?

Not me iac. The natural association is Circus Maximus, who imo are the closest to SW. Bupie, you should try out CM, I'm sure you'l like'm 

Nicky.

[maddox]

Good grief, Mad, what have you been smoking 

Nothing, I can assure you.

You'r not gonna get me to play Beyoncé by any means, it's enuff that one's exposed to her all over the place 

Next thing, you'l be asking us to listen to Heintje - Oma so lieb wail wail 

I already told you lot that I don't know how to explain it! 
It's in the way she sings, not what she sings, is that better?
Tommy also has that kind of singing. Melodic, lots of vocal changes.

The thing is that SW (and masses of other bands) arose in the slipstream of DT, sooo: without DT, no SW, purely and simply 

True, partly that is because to me none of these bands ever would exist without Rush, King Crimson, Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd.
For starters.

Now you'r makin sense 

I knew you would agree with me. 

[maddox]

In other news;

Hi everyone!

It is not a secret that I have been in close contact with the Kamelot crew for some time now. I played with them on Progpower 2010 and I joined them on the european part of the tour in the spring of 2011. I learned a lot from this experience and had a great time together with the guys. Of course musically it is a bit different from the SW style but to me, that is also what makes it interesting and challenging. Over the past months I have come to love the music and the vibe of the band and when I finally and officially was asked to join as the singer and full blown member of Kamelot I was very happy and gladly accepted! This is something I am really proud of and something I am looking forward to making my own. However I do want to say this... and this is very important to me...
I will not leave Seventh Wonder!
The SW guys and all of you fantastic and supportive fans out there will not get rid of me so easily!
I love you all and you are the reason I got to where I am today! We are already working on some stuff for the next SW album and really can`t wait to show it to you all!

Yours truly,

Tommy Karevik

[Nicky007]

 

They could'v of course asked Beyoncé 

Thanx, Mad 

But I sure hope that Khan gets back upfront somewhere.

Nicky.

[maddox]

They could'v of course asked Beyoncé 

Thanx, Mad